AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY 
MINING and METALLURGY 

by 

H. H. Manchester 



ENGINEERING fr MINING 

JOURNAL-PRESS 





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An Illustrated History 

of 

Mining and Metallurgy 

By H. H. MANCHESTER 



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Mining in America , from title page of De Bry 


ENGINEERING AND MINING JOURNAL-PRESS 

Tenth Avenue at 36th Street, New York 











Prefatory Note by J. E. Spurr 


T HE interesting series of illustrated 
articles by Mr. Manchester, which was 
published in Engineering & Mining Jour¬ 
nal-Press, and is reprinted in this booklet, does 
not pretend to be complete or systematic. They 
are very valuable for making available to us 
scattered pictorial and other records which 
mainly are to be found only in rare old books, 
mostly lodged at present in museums and a few 
great libraries. Mr. Manchester has selected 
four typical periods—the Egyptian period, that 
of the Greeks and Romans, the Middle Ages in 
Europe, and in sixteenth century America; and 
has compiled much picturesque and informative 
material concerning each. The record stops 
short there. The work is essentially antiquarian 
and fragmentary; it is historical rather than 
technical. The reader will piece out from his 
own knowledge and from current and available 
literature the marvelous development of min¬ 
ing and metallurgy since the early Spanish days 
in America. 


Copyright, 1922 
McGraw-Hill Co., Inc. 


JMi -4 IS2J v 


©CU694530 


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An Illustrated History 
of 

Mining and Metallurgy 

I. In Ancient Egypt 

Records in the Form of Drawings and Writings Indicate Ancient 
Egyptians Conducted Mining and Smelting in a Manner Com¬ 
parable to Advances in Other Industries—Mine Map 
Made in Time of King Seti I Earliest Known 

T HE earliest records of mining antedate even the dawn of 
civilization. One reason for this is that the prehistoric 
Egyptians buried various weapons and utensils in their 
graves, probably with the idea that they would be of assistance 
to the spirit in the hereafter. In the earliest prehistoric graves 
are found copper harpoons, chisels, and pins, the heads of 
which were formed by simply rolling over the shank. Some¬ 
what later, but still in the prehistoric age, daggers and spear¬ 
heads, also made of copper, were buried with the body. From 
about the same period, about six thousand years ago, came 
relics of gold, silver, and lead. Electrum has been discovered 
in tombs of the First Dynasty. This was no doubt a natural 
mixture of gold and silver such as came from the Nubian mines. 

In prehistoric times it was already discovered that some 
copper ores, with the imperfect method of smelting then 
employed, produced a harder metal, and one better suited for 
tools, than others. Some of the earliest prehistoric tools were 
hardened through the presence of about 4 per cent arsenic in 
the metal, and in others this effect was produced by as little as 1 
per cent of bismuth. A bronze rod was discovered in a mastaba 
or tomb, of the Third Dynasty of Meydum, but specimens 






2 ] An Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy 



Smelting, beating, and weighing in the old Empire of Memphis 


of bronze from this period are too rare and questionable to 
prove that the amalgamation was then known. 

A few relics of iron, likewise, have been unearthed among 
the remains of the Old Kingdom of Memphis, but they are so 
scarce as to prove that if iron were known at all in that era its 
use was exceedingly rare. 

The greatest supply of copper seems to have come from the 
Sinai Peninsula, to the east of Egypt. The mines were worked 
at certain times, though probably not regularly, as early as the 
First Dynasty, but they were opened up more extensively by 
King Snefru in the Third Dynasty, and he was afterward 
looked back upon as the great patron of mining there. A 
number of the roads leading to Sinai, and stopping places on 
the way, were named after him, and he was honored along with 
the god Hathor as the protector of miners. 

Much of the mining at Sinai was done by expeditions which 
were dispatched from Egypt to work during the most favorable 
months and then return. A proof of this is the inscription left 
on the rocks by a leader of such an expedition in the Fifth 
Dynasty. At about this period the mines of Sinai began to be 



Smelting, in small crucibles, from a tomb of the Sixth Dynasty 



































In Ancient Egypt ]3 



Casting in Eighteenth Dynasty 


worked for turquoise. This was highly valued in Egypt and 
was the object of various expeditions. An inscription of that 
dynasty mentions that the god had caused precious stone to be 
found in the secret mine, which probably refers to turquoise. 

The earliest Egyptian mining tools discovered are stone picks, 
flint and stone chisels and scrapers, wooden mallets, and stone 
hammers. The mallet was the shape of a policeman’s club; 
that is, all handle with no head; the hammer, on the other 
hand, was only a semi-globular piece of stone, thus being all 
head and no handle. When copper came in it was used for 
chisels and hammers. The skill of the Egyptians with such rude 
tools is evidenced in the work they did. 

There is no Egyptian account of smelting dating from the 
Old Empire of Memphis, but several pictures from that period 
suggest how it was done. In a tomb of the Fifth Dynasty at 
Sakkara, the ore is apparently in a crucible in the midst of the 
fire. Around this are sitting several workmen in whose hands 
are long tubes through which they are blowing the fire. A 



An Ancient Egyptian battery of blowpipes 











4 ] An Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy 

somewhat similar tomb painting at Sakkara illustrates not only 
smelting the ore but casting and hammering the metal. In both 
of these pictures the fire was unprotected from the wind, but 
there was also a small furnace which was like a pot, with one 
side of the rim raised as a guard against the wind. In this 
furnace charcoal was burned, and it was probably used for small 



The small furnace long continued to be used for gold 


amounts of gold. A picture of it represents a workman with a 
short blow pipe in one hand and a pair of spring-backed tongs 
in the other. 

Few records have been found in Egypt from the Sixth to the 
Eleventh dynasty. But in the Twelfth Dynasty, more than 
four thousand years ago, mining operations in Sinai were again 
resumed. 

The road to Sinai was no doubt dangerous because of the 
heat, and the operations themselves might be interrupted by 
accidents. On this subject we find Sabek-hir-hab congratulat¬ 
ing himself in an inscription: “I hollowed out a mine chamber 
for my king, and the full number of my youths returned; none 
among them perished. . . . Give praise to the king, the moun¬ 
tains yield what is within, and the hills proffer their riches.’' 
The leader of the expedition was commanded to bring back a 
certain quantity of turquoise, and perhaps copper, and in 


















In Ancient Egypt [ 5 

carrying out the work he divided his force into gangs of five, 
with foremen and superintendents. An inscription of Amen- 
enhat in the Twelfth Dynasty declares: “I arrived at the mine of 
Ka; I procured the quota of turquoise, being ... for each 
five men each day. Never had so much been done since the 
days of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Snefru the blessed.” 



Rock drilling in Egypt 3,500 years ago. Note the position 
of the workmen and the prod of the foreman 


Some of the difficulties met by the expeditions are suggested 
by an inscription by Harurre, who entered Sinai during the hot 
season. “I came to the district in the third month of the second 
season, although it was not the season for travel to the mine- 
land. . . . The treasurer of the god said: ‘Let not your face 
flinch on this account; behold Hathor will turn it to advantage.’ 
I looked to myself and considered when I came from Egypt. 
My face flinched and it was difficult for me. The plateaus are 
parched in summer, and the mountains sear the skin. . . . 
When I asked the workmen about it they said. ‘There is tur¬ 
quoise in this mountain forever,’ which was pleasant to hear 
coming at this season. I began to work fortunately. My force 
arrived in full numbers; none among them perished; my face 
recoiled not before the undertaking. I succeeded in mining the 
best stones, and completed the work in the first month of the 
































An Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy 



A pottery crucible for copper, from Sinai 



Stone pounders for crushing stone, from Sinai 





In Ancient Egypt 



Ancient Egyptian qaarryings in a mine in Sinai 



Stone pillars left in mine in Sinai 







8 ] An Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy 

third season. I brought back genuine precious stones, more 
than anyone who had come here, and more than the quota; even 
better than in the usual season. ... I led my force very con¬ 
siderately, nor was I harsh voiced to the workmen.” 

The principal sources of gold in early Egypt were probably 
Nubia and Coptos. In the Twelfth Dynasty Ameni describes 
the southern expedition for it as follows: “I sailed southward to 
bring gold ore for the king of Upper and Lower Egypt. ... I 
sailed with 400 of my best troops, all of whom returned in safety, 
without the loss of a man. I brought the quota of gold com¬ 
manded me, and was praised for it in the palace.” Ameni also 
went on an expedition for gold ore to Coptos, and recorded the 
event as follows: “To bring gold ore I sailed south to the city of 
Coptos, together with the hereditary prince, commander of the 
city and vizier, Sesostris. I sailed south with 600 from the 
bravest of the Oryx nome. I returned in safety, my soldiers 
having suffered no loss: I accomplished all that had been com¬ 
manded me.” 

In both of these cases, it will be noted that the expedition 
went after and brought back gold ore, rather than refined gold. 

After the Nomadic kings had been driven out of Egypt, and 
the New Empire of Thebes established, about 3,500 years ago, 



Stone picks from Sinai 




In Ancient Egypt [ 9 

an invention was made which greatly facilitated smelting. This 
was the application of foot power to the bellows. This bellows 
consisted of a goat skin, with a tube leading from it to the fire. 
The illustration shows the workman standing with each foot 
on a skin. By resting his weight on one foot, he drives the air 
from that bellows into the fire, while by lifting the other skin 
with a cord he causes it to be filled with air. This was a great 
improvement over the old blowpipe, and made it possible for 
the Egyptians to smelt more refractory ores, and in much 
greater amounts. 

In this period bronze became common, though tin for it had 
to be imported mostly through the Phoenicians. Iron also 
came into more frequent use, though it was never employed by 
the Egyptians as much as bronze. 

The gold mines of Atika were situated far across the burning 
desert, and the expeditions were greatly hampered by the 
absence of water. When Seti I inspected the mines from which 
electrum was brought, he sorrowed over the lack of water on the 
way, and caused a well to be dug, which for a time was a great 
aid to the expeditions. Later this well dried up, and another 
one was excavated on the road to Akita by Rameses II in the 
Nineteenth Dynasty. 

A remarkable papyrus of that period contains perhaps the 
oldest plan of a mine in existence. It represents two valleys 



Copper chisels for mining, from Sinai 



10 ] An Illustra ed History of Mining and Metallurgy 

running parallel to each other between the mountains, and 
united by a winding valley which crosses them. The pointed 
mountain marked “A” has the notation, “Mountains where 
gold is washed,” while on the mountafn marked “B” are the 
words “gold mine.” The valley “M” and the pass “N” are 
called routes to the sea. On the mountain marked “C” was a 
temple of Amon. The huts marked “H” no doubt belonged to 



An ancient Egyptian map of a gold mine district — 
the earliest known map of a mine 


the gold miners, while the reservoir marked “K” was probably 
the well of King Seti I. 

In the next dynasty we read of a great expedition sent by 
Rameses III to the copper mines in Atika: “I dispatched my 
forces to the land of Atika, to the great copper mines there. 
Some we carried by galleys, while others went by land upon 
their asses. The like had not been heard of before since the first 
kings. The mines were found rich with copper. It was loaded 
by myriads into the galleys, which were sent on to Egypt and 
arrived in safety. The bars of copper were brought and piled 
into a heap under the balcony, a hundred thousand in number.” 

A similar expedition was sent by Rameses III to the turquoise 





















In Ancient Egypt [ 11 

mines of Sinai, and brought back genuine turquoise in numerous 
sacks, as well as silver and gold. 

In his researches in Sinai, Petrie found stone picks, pounders, 
mallets and hammers, as well as flint scrapers for grubbing out 
the sandstone. A highly interesting relic was a crucible of 
pottery in the shape of a hemisphere with the rim rising verti¬ 
cally still higher, and the spout considerably below the rim. It 
is thought that the handle of this was not strong enough to bear 



Smelting with foot bellows , Eighteenth Dynasty 


the weight of molten metal, and that it was emptied by being 
rolled rather than lifted. 

At the bottom of some of the many huts were buried house¬ 
hold utensils of stone or pottery which were too heavy in pro¬ 
portion to their value to be carried back to Egypt, and were 
hidden by the last occupant of the hut on the chance that he 
might return. 

A thousand years later, after Egypt had been conquered by 
Alexander, and was under the rule of the Ptolemies, which, it 
must be remembered, was a Greek dynasty, the old Egyptian 
system of working the mines through expeditions was changed. 
The mines were put under close control, and were worked by 
criminals whose offences were great enough to be punished by 
life imprisonment. In many cases even their families were ban- 





12 ] An Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy 

ished to the mines with them, and also forced to wear their 
lives out at the work. 

The mines were visited by Diodorus Siculus in the first 
century B. C., and he gives something of an account of the 
methods in use. 

The soil was naturally black, but in the body of the earth 
ran many veins shining with white marble and glistening with 
all sorts of bright metals. There was one overseer for the whole 
work, who marked out the stone and showed the laborers what 
to do. The rock which was the hardest and full of gold, was 
softened by putting fire under it, and then worked out with the 
hands. Several thousand wretches followed the vein, and 
broke it in pieces with hammers and iron pickaxes. They car¬ 
ried lamps fastened to their foreheads to give them light, but 
otherwise worked in perfect darkness. The pieces of stone were 
thrown out upon the floor of the galley, where they were gath¬ 
ered up by little boys and carried out. 

Other criminals who were about thirty years of age took this 
rock and pounded it with iron pestles in stone mortars until 
the pieces were about the size of a bean. The older men and 
women then placed them in mills and ground them until they 
were as fine as meal. Finally the masters of the work took the 
powdered stone and spread it upon a broad and slightly hol¬ 
lowed plank where they washed and cleansed away the earth, 
the gold, on account of its weight, remaining behind. After 
washing several times, they drew out the remaining dross by 
delicately applying slender sponges. Finally, other workmen 
put it into earthen jars, and, in proportion to the quantity, 
mixed with it “some lead, grains of salt, a little tin, and barley 
bran.” Covering the pots very tightly, and daubing them over 
with clay, the men placed them in a furnace and left them there 
five days and nights, after which, assures Diodorus, only pure 
refined gold remained. 


II. The Greek and Roman Periods 

Methods of Pumping Said to Have Been First Developed When Romans 
Conquered Carthage This Period Also Marks First Reference 
to Contract Work—Pliny Wrote Fully Concerning 
Methods of Mining Gold in First Century 

G REEK relics of copper, gold, and silver may be traced 
to the prehistoric period, but illustrations and accounts 
of actual mining do not begin until a later date. 

One of the earliest and certainly one of the most interesting 
Greek pictures of mining is a scene in colors on an archaic 



A primitive Greek mine. From an archaic Corinthian 
plate. Note the lamp 

Corinthian pinax, which may be dated about 600 B. C. This 
depicts an excavation about eight feet in depth and about the 
same in width. A miner is attacking one side with a pickaxe, 
while*a*boy is gathering up the lumps dislodged and handing 
them’to a woman who is kneeling over the top of the excavation. 
Thisjnay well portray mining by a family at a time when the 
mines in Greece were still so undeveloped as to require only the 
simplest operations. One noteworthy detail is a good-sized 









14 ] An Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy 

lamp which is hung above the working place and furnishes light 
in addition to that from the opening to the sky. 

In the early period, the mines which are mentioned are 
described as exceedingly rich, but probably only the most readily 
extracted richer ore was taken out. Herodotus, who wrote 
about 500 B. C., stated that in Siphnos, “there were mines of 
gold and silver of so rich a yield, that from a tenth of the ores, 
the Siphnians furnished out a treasury at Delphi, which was on 
a par with the grandest there. What the mines yielded was 
divided year by year among the citizens.” 

Xenophon wrote that the mines of Laurion had been worked 
from time immemorial. In a treatise on the revenues, he dis¬ 
closes several facts as to the method of working mines which are 
of interest. “It is an old story,” he declares, “how formerly 
Nicias owned a thousand men in the silver mines, whom he let 
out to Sosias, a Thracian. Sosias was to pay him a net obol 
(3c.) a day, without charge or deduction for every slave of the 
thousand and keep up that number continuously. So also 
Hipponicus let out 600 slaves which brought him a net mina 
($20) a day. ” Thus it appears that from a very early period the 
mines at Laurion were worked by slave labor. 

Modern excavations at Laurion have revealed narrow galler¬ 
ies winding into chambers which are in part supported by pillars 
of stone which have either been left standing or put together for 
the purpose. A small, partly destroyed furnace has also been 
discovered, which, it is thought, was used in freeing the silver 
from the lead. 

Much richer than the mines of Laurion were those of Spain. 
According to Diodorus Siculus, the Pyrenees Mountains were 
so called because at one time in the distant past they had taken 
fire, and continued burning for a long time. This had melted so 
much silver that the metal had flowed down in streams. Since 
the use of this was unknown to the inhabitants, the Phoenicians 
had obtained it for mere trifles, and after loading their ships as 
full as possible, they had even cut the lead weights from their 
anchors and substituted silver. 


The Greek and Roman Periods 


15 



Supports in a gallery in Laurion 


At first anybody might collect the precious metals, and even 
common laborers in silver mines earned good wages. 

After the Carthaginians conquered the country, they made 
a search for the precious ores, and opened up so many mines 
that but few new ones were discovered afterward. It was the 
silver and gold from these mines which they used to pay the 
mercenary troops that formed so large a part of the Carthagin¬ 
ian armies. 

When the Romans conquered Carthage and took possession 
of Spain they developed the slave and contract system of 
working the mines. The slaves followed the veins from where 
they cropped out at the surface far into the mountains. By 



An ancient Greek miner and his ax-like pick 













16 ] Ari\Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy 



Section. 


i * 

FEET 



Plan. 



A Greek smelting furnace 
Reconstructed from remains in Laurion 

















The Greek and Roman Periods [ 17 

this time mining engineering was beginning to be developed. 
This is illustrated by Diodorus’ description of their method of 
overcoming underground streams: “Sometimes at a great depth 
under the ground they meet with rivers, but by art check the 
violence of their current; for by cutting trenches under the 



The wheel used for raising water. From remains in Spain 


ground they divert the stream . . . and skilfully pump out 
the flood with machines called Egyptian screws, invented by 
Archimedes, the Syracusan, when he was in Egypt. ... For 
this engine is so ingeniously contrived that a vast quantity 
of water is cast out with little labor, and the whole flux thrown 
up from the very bottom of the mine to the surface of the earth.” 

As under the earlier rulers, the slaves seem to have been 
worked in the mines without mercy and until they died at 
their tasks. 

In Spain, likewise, according to Diodorus, was found tin. 
It was common above Lusitania, in the islands opposite Iberia, 
and much was also transported from Britain into Gaul, the 
merchants carrying it on horseback to Marseilles. 




















18 ] An Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy 



A stamped 
silver ingot 










The Greek and Roman Periods [ 19 

By 30 A. D., according to Strabo, the mines of Laurion were 
exhausted, but the workmen were still obtaining silver there by 
committing the old refuse and scoria to the furnace, for the 
former laborers had carried on the process very unskilfully. 

By the first century A. D. mining engineering had become a 
very practical science among the Romans. Pliny, the Roman 
scientist, gives a description of the methods of mining gold then 



A Roman subterranean machine cutting out rock 


employed, and although it is too long to be quoted, the most 
important points must be noted. Gold was then procured in 
three ways, the first of which, Pliny considers, was in the form 
of dust found in running streams, such as the Tagus in Spain, 
the Padus in Italy, and the Hebrus in Thrace. The second 
method was by sinking shafts. The persons in search of gold 
looked for indications on the surface. When found they 
washed this earth, or segutilum, as it was called, and from the 
results conjectured the richness of the vein. Sometimes the 
gold was found on the surface, as when in the reign of Nero 
such a vein was discovered in Dalmatia which yielded 50 lbs.. 
of gold a day. But the prospectors were seldom so lucky. 





















20 ] An Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy 



The Greek stack furance with a kettle or crucible on top 


The gold ore mined by means of shafts was known as “cana- 
licium.” In the galleries the earth was kept from falling by 
wooden pillars. The method of obtaining silver and gold from 
the ore is described by Pliny as follows: “The material extracted 
is first broken up and then washed. After this it is subjected 
to the action of fire, and then ground to a fine powder. . . . 
The silver which becomes disengaged in the furnace is given 
the name of sudor. ... In the case of gold the scoria is broken 
up a second time and melted over again. The crucibles used for 
this purpose are made of white earth similar to potter’s clay, 
there being no other substance capable of withstanding the 
strong draft, the action of the fire, and the intense heat of the 
molten metal.” 

The third method involved the actual tearing down of a 





The stack furnace in a statue maker’s place. Note the 
workmen behind the furnace blowing the bellows 















The Greek and Roman Periods 


[21 

mountain, and Pliny says surpassed the labors of the giants. 
Galleries were driven to great distances, and mountains were 
hollowed out by the light of torches, the duration of which set 
the hours for work, the workmen never seeing the light of day 
for months at a time. Occasionally the earth caved in and 



Roman machines for removing water from mines. 
From remains in Spain 


crushed the workmen, for which reason arches were left at inter¬ 
vals to support the mountain above, says Pliny. 

Sometimes barriers of quartz were encountered, which were 
broken up by fire and vinegar, or more often, as this filled the 
galleries with smoke, by means of bruising machines shod with 
pieces of iron weighing 150 lbs. each. The fragments were 
passed out by long lines of workmen, each handing pieces on to 
his neighbor in the dark. Where the quartz appeared too thick, 
the miners traced along the side of it and flanked it. 

Even more obstinate than the quartz was considered the 
potter’s clay mixed with gravel, which was called “gangadia.” 
When the excavating was completed the workers cut away the 
wooden pillars, beginning with the inmost, which supported the 















22 ] An Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy 

roof, until the mountain at length caved in, hurling its debris 
to a distance with a crash, which Pliny says it is impossible for 
the imagination to conceive. 

Washing the debris for the gold required fully as much labor 
and greater expense. Streams were conducted from still more 
elevated heights, at a distance in many cases of 100 miles. The 
fall was kept steep in order to preserve the power of the flow* 
Sometimes valleys had to be crossed by aqueducts, or obstinate 
rocks hewed away to make room for troughs of wood. In 
places this had to be done by workmen suspended with ropes. 

Care had to be taken to carry the water only over beds of 
quartz or pebbles to avoid mud. 

At the head of the fall at the very brow of the mountain 
reservoirs were constructed about 200 ft. square and 10 ft. deep. 
Usually five sluices 3 ft. square were added, down which, as 
soon as the flood gates were opened, the water would rush in 
torrents. Below, on the level ground, trenches wree built to 
carry the water. In them was placed ulex, a plant somewhat 
like rosemary, rough and prickly, for arresting any piece oi 
gold that might be carried along. Thus the water in the reser¬ 
voir was made to wash the debris of the mountain and leave the 
gold in the trenches. Pliny declared that so many hills were 
thus washed away and carried to the sea that the shores of 
Spain were noticeably extended. 



A gold ingot with various stamps 









III. In the Middle Ages in Europe 

Methods Practiced Described by Biringucci—Amalgamation Process 
Applied to Ores—Treadwheels Used for Hoisting— 

An Early Mine Car 

W HEN the barbarians overran the Roman Empire in 
the west, the great Roman mines which depended for 
their operation upon important engineering works 
were abandoned, and mining in general practically ceased for a 
century or so. It is doubtful, however, if it was stopped 
entirely, but where continued it was carried on in a much more 
primitive way. 



A miner of Dieselmounl , about 1300 A.D. 


The barbarians themselves, even before they were Christian¬ 
ized, did some mining. The still pagan Avars, for example, 
about 550 A. D. opened up the electrum mines of Kremnitz, 
and the silver mines of Chemnitz and Transylvania. In the 
seventh century the barbarians began to mine silver at Rothans- 
berg, in Bohemia, and in the eighth century the un-Christianized 
Saxons started mining at Zell and Andreasberg. In England, 
also, the streams at that time were dug up for tin, though no 
actual mines for this metal seem as yet to have been dug. 

What is probably the remains of a barbarian smelter has been 




24 ] An Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy 



discovered in the Pyrenees. It was only about 2 ft. in height, 
the lower half being a cylinder, and the upper half an inverted 
cone placed over it. Two blast pipes entered about a foot from 
the bottom. Near by were found lumps of iron weighing from 
30 to 35 lbs. Sometimes the furnaces were placed on the edge 
of a hill where the wind was usually strong. Below the top of 
the hill was an opening where the wind could enter to blow the 
fire, while the top of the furnace had another opening above 
the hill. 

It must be remembered, however, that the Dark Ages of 
Europe were the most brilliant ones of the Mohammedan 





In the Middle Ages in Europe 



Small crucibles of the early Middle Ages 
Fig. 1. Crucible with triangular aperture and horizontal handle, 

10 cm. high. Fig. 2. Top view of crucible shown in Fig. 1. On handle 
is figure of a fiddler. Fig. 3. Crucible from vicinity of Cologne, 

14V2 cm. high. Fig. 4- Top view of Fig. 3. 

realms. In the eighth century, for instance, the Mohammedans 
worked not only the gold and silver but the iron mines of Spain. 

At some unknown date during the early Middle Ages, a highly 
interesting improvement was made in the blast furnace. This 
was the Catalan forge, which is reputed to have originated in 
Catalonia, Spain. Water power was practically inexhaustible 
in the district, and was applied to blowing the furnace. 

The water from a rivulet was caught in a small reservoir just 
above the furnace, and after the furnace was lighted the water 





26 ] An Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy 



Mining and smelting scenes of about 14OO A.D. 
from a silver vase 






In the Middle Ages in Europe 


[27 



Additional scenes from silver vase engraved 
in Fourteenth or Fijteenth Century 













28 ] An Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy 

was permitted to run down a pipe at the back of or underneath 
the furnace. The moving water sucked air down with it, which 
escaped through a hole in the pipe below the furnace and acted 
as a constant blast. 

One of the first of the mediaeval writers who touched on 
metallurgy was Theophilus, the monk, about 1100 A. D. In 
his volume on the various arts he considered the purifying of 
silver and copper, and the separating of gold from silver or 
copper. His account of the separating of gold and silver as 
done by goldsmiths runs as follows: 

“Place the scrapings in a small vessel such as gold or silver 
is melted in. Press a small linen cloth over it so that nothing 
may be ejected from it by the blast of the bellows. Then melt 
them by placing it before the furnace. Thereupon lay frag¬ 
ments of sulphur in the molten metal according to the quantity 
of the scrapings, and carefully stir it with a small piece of char¬ 
coal until the fumes cease. Then at once pout out into an iron 
mold. Beat it upon an anvil gently lest some of the black may 
fly from it, because this is the silver wlTch the sulphur has 
burnt. The sulphur consumes none of the gold, but only the 
silver which it separates from the gold which you carefully pre¬ 
serve. . . . Place all the black upon bone and ashes, and add¬ 
ing lead burn it so that you may recover the silver.” 

Marco Polo, who visited the Far East about 1300 A. D., men¬ 
tions a number of gold and silver mines there, but tells nothing 
of the processes used. In passing, he mentions that in central 
Asia gold was then worth six times as much as silver. The only 
operation related to smelting that is mentioned by him is his 
account of the preparation at Cobinan of an impure oxide of 
zinc. This runs as follows: 

“They have a vein of a certain earth which they put into a 
great flaming furnace, whilst over the furnace there is an iron 
grating. The smoke and moisture expelled from the earth 
adhere to the iron grating and form tutta, whilst the slag that is 
left after burning is the spodium.” 

During the Dark Ages the Graeco-Roman cylindrical furnace 


In the Middle Ages in Europe [ 29 

was forgotten, but was revived again in the thirteenth century 
in the stack oven which came into use along the Rhine. This 
was perhaps 10 ft. tall, with two holes near the bottom for the 
blast. 

The most interesting set of pictures concerning mining and 
metallurgy is a series engraved on a silver vase by the gold and 
silversmiths of Gand, France, about 1400 A. D. It consists of 
sixteen scenes arranged around the vase. In the first scene, a 
saint’s head is pictured over the mouth of the mine, representing 
no doubt the saint to whom the mine was dedicated in the hopes 
of warding off misfortune. The second scene represents one 
miner with his pick just entering the mine, which now has a 
cross over the top, while another miner is apparently carrying 
out some of the ore. The third view illustrates the making of 
wooden props. The fifth scene is remarkable as showing a 
small car filled with ore, and apparently being pushed along on 
wooden rails. If this is correct, it is the earliest picture of a car 
on rails yet brought to light. The sixth scene shows the break¬ 
ing up of ore, while the next two depict different methods of 
transporting it. 

The ninth to the eleventh scenes, inclusive, represent different 
furnaces and processes in smelting the ore. Two of these cuts 
prove that waterwheels were already in use for working the 
bellows. Another smelting operation is depicted in the four¬ 
teenth scene. Here the furnace is higher, and there is no sign of 
bellows being used. Three of the other views symbolize the 
business transactions of the silversmiths, while in the remaining 
view we see the miner once more entering his mine. 

Biringucci Describes Mining in Europe 

Some conception of mining in Europe may be obtained from 
the Italian work on pyrotechnics by Biringucci. This was 
written chiefly to demonstrate the casting and boring of cannon, 
but leads up to this by means of accounts of mining and metal¬ 
lurgy. In his directions for mining, Biringucci advises that 
after the signs of ore are discovered, the mine should be begun 


30 ] An Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy 



: 

f 

/ 

: j||J| pt foj 

Sir 

g|j 

IU ill 

®lggy 


A mine and near-by smithy , from Biringucci 


not at the top of the hill, as in ancient times, but at the bottom 
of the hill by means of a passage running horizontally to where 
it is calculated that the lead is located. Near the entrance of 
the cave he directed dormitories to be built for the workmen, 
and a storehouse for their necessities; also a smith’s forge where 
the worn and broken tools could be renewed. After these pre¬ 
liminaries, Biringucci continues: 

“Thus in the name of God and good adventure, causing a 
priest to bless the mountain with all the shops, and to baptize 
the cave, dedicating it as the manner is to the Holy Trinity, or 
our Lady, or to some other saint which you have in mind, with 
the invocation to them to prosper your attempts, you shall 
with good courage and hope begin to dig the cave.” 

Where the cave ran through soft material, Biringucci ad¬ 
monished: 

“Use all possible diligence in upholding and strengthening 
the cave well with arches of walls traversed with strong posts of 
timber after the manner of framed beams, sustained with great 
and strong piles made of good durable timber of oak or other 
great trees.” 

Biringucci suggests shifts, of fresh workmen every six or 
eight hours. In regard to the tools in use he says: 

“For the digging of such mines as are found in dead and ten¬ 
der stones, as alabaster and marie, it is requisite apt and strong 





























In the Middle Ages in Europe 


[31 



Assaying in 1540, from Biringucci 


instruments, as great beetles, mattocks and spades of iron, also 
great and long crowbars of iron to lift great boards; likewise 
large and small pickaxes, some of iron and some of steel. Fur¬ 
thermore, there should be great mauls with and without handles, 
and such other tools both of iron and fine hardened steel as the 
hardness of the stone shall require. . . . Besides these it will 
also be requisite to have plenty of great baskets, spades, shov¬ 
els, sleds, hand barrows with and without wheels; and sacks 
made of raw or untanned hides to carry the fragments out of 
the cave.” 

The light was supplied from various materials, as may be 
seen from the following directions: 

“Have great quantities of unctuous liquors to maintain fire, 
such as the oils of olives, nuts, linseed, and hempseed; likewise 
have roots of rotten trees, or animal tallow, or the fat and oil of 
fishes. For without the light of fire it is not possible for the 
laborer to work.” 

Without knowing the reason, the miners of the time recog¬ 
nized the necessity of fresh air to fire, for Biringucci added: 

“Nor can any fire be maintained in the cave except it receive 
the air through some ‘respiracle’ or breathing place, by means 
of a funnel or trunk of wood, or such other open pipe whereby 
the air may be conveyed into the cave.” 

Several remarkably interesting cuts illustrating mining in 














32J An Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy 



Grinding ore in amalgamation process, from Biringucci 



A silver furnace, 1540, from Biringucci 



Furnace for quicksilver, from Biringucci 





































In the Middle Ages in Europe 


[33 



Preparing to reduce quicksilver, from, Biringucci 


Liquating furnace and cupellation cups, 1540 




Miners' tools, from Biringucci 
















































34 1 An Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy 

the middle of the sixteenth century are contained in the history 
of the northern countries, written in Latin by the Archbishop of 
Upsala. One of the cuts shows a large treadwheel in use at 
the top of the mine for hoisting the metal or the miners. Such 
treadwheels were in use in Roman times, but it is interesting 
to find them adopted as far north as Sweden. 

In another cut may be seen a cave at the bottom of the shaft. 
On the left a miner is at work with his mallet and wedge. At 
the right is depicted the devil or one of the evil spirits of the 
mine causing a cave-in. To the artist this was no fanciful con¬ 
ception, for at the time it was universally believed that the 
mines were inhabited by demons, who caused the accidents 
which inevitably took place. 

In regard to smelting Biringucci is even more informative of 
the advance made at that date. 

The amalgamation of gold and quicksilver was known to the 
Romans, and was used by their goldsmiths in refining gold. 
Pliny, for example, wrote of it: 

“All substances float upon the surface of quicksilver, with 
the exception of gold, this being the only substance that it 
attracts to itself. Hence it is, that it is such an excellent refiner 
of gold; for on being briskly shaken in an earthen vessel with 
gold, it rejects all the impurities that examider with it. When 
once it has thus expelled all these superfluities, there is nothing 
to do but to separate it from the gold: to effect which it is 
poured out upon skins that have been well towed, and so exud¬ 
ing through them like a sort of perspiration, it leaves the gold 
in a state of purity behind.” 

First Description of Amalgamation Process 
Applied to Ores 

But the amalgamation process for separating gold from its 
ores, and especially for smelting silver, does not seem to have 
been used in ancient times, and the account of it by Biringucci 
is thought to be the earliest. His account is therefore worth 
repeating at least in part: 


In the Middle Ages in Europe [ 35 

“He was surely endowed with much useful and novel genius, 
who invented the quick method of extracting metal out of the 
sweepings from those arts that work gold and silver, from the 
refuse of those materials and also from certain ores themselves, 
without the labor of fusing, but by the sole means and virtue of 
mercury. To effect this a large basin is first constructed of 
stone or timber and walled, into which is fitted a millstone made 



Swedish mine, sixteenth century, from Archbishop of Upsala. 
Note treadivheel for hoisting 


to turn like that of a mill. Into the hollow of this basin is 
placed matter containing gold, well ground in a mortar and 
afterwards washed and dried; and, with the above-mentioned 
millstone, it is ground while being moistened with vinegar, or 
water in which has been dissolved corrosive sublimate, verdigris 
and common salt. Over these materials is then put as much 
mercury as will cover them; they are then stirred, for an hour 
or two, by turning the millstone, either by hand or horsepower, 
according to the plan adopted, bearing in mind that the more 
the mercury and the materials are bruised together, by the mill¬ 
stone, the more the mercury may be trusted to have taken up 
the substance which the materials contain. The mercury, in 
this condition, can then be separated from the earthy matter 
by a sieve, or by washing, and thus you will recover the aurifer¬ 
ous mercury. After this, by driving off the mercury by means 
of a flask, or by passing it through a bag, there will remain, at 
















36] 


An Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy 



Smelting arrangements, from Archbishop of Upsala 

the bottom, the gold, silver, or copper, or whatever metal was 
placed in the basin under the millstone to be ground. 

“Having been desirous of knowing this secret, I gave, to him 
who taught it to me, a ring with a diamond worth 25 ducats, he 
also required me to give to him the eighth part of any profit I 
might make by using it. This I wished to tell you, not that you 
should return the ducats to me for teaching you the secret, but 
in order that you should esteem it all the more and hold it 
dear.” 

Biringucci also describes the cementation process for sepa¬ 
rating gold and silver. This consisted in brief of interlaying the 
metal with powdered brick, common salt, and occasionally a 



Interior of Swedish mine, sixteenth century. 
Note evil mine demon at right 



























In the Middle Ages in Europe [ 37 

little green vitriol, and then baking in the furnace for twenty- 
four hours. But as this process was far less important than the 
amalgamation method, the more complete description may be 
omitted. 

Important variations in the furnace, of which Biringucci 
seems to be the first to make mention, were the reverberatory 
and liquidation types which he recommended for use in treating 
ores and metals in certain cases. 

This brings us in Europe to the middle of the sixteenth 
century, but in the meantime mining had already begun on an 
important scale in the newly discovered Western Hemisphere. 


IV. In Sixteenth Century America 

Practices of the Incas and Improvements by the Spaniards—The Dis¬ 
covery of Potosi—Acosta Describes the Amalgamation Process 
and the Use of Quicksilver in Smelting Silver 

W HEN the Spaniards discovered Central America, 
Mexico, and Peru they found the natives using 
gold much as they did copper, and valuing it lit¬ 
tle if any more highly. Silver also was in use, but the natives 
knew nothing of iron, and when first made presents of iron 



Indians smelting with blowpipes, from Benzoni 


hatchets, and other tools, valued them more highly than they 
did gold because of their greater usefulness. The Incas had 
pots, cups, flagons, and even chairs and litters of gold, to say 
nothing of many images of their gods. This was not because 
they valued gold more highly, but because it was capable of 
being easily worked into such forms. 

The methods of mining were very simple. Peter Martyr 
says that in getting gold from streams the Indians simply 























































In Sixteenth Century America [ 39 

gathered up the sand in their hands, and shifted it from one hand 
to the other until most of the sand flowed out. 

The Incas smelted by means of furnaces without any chemical 
processes. They used blowpipes, though not bellows, avoiding 
the employment of the latter by placing many of their furnaces 
on the side of a hill where the wind would blow the fire. The 
blowpipes were used more for the small furnaces in which the 
metal was melted so that it might be cast. 

Spain, it will be remembered, was the greatest source of 
precious metals in ancient times, and the Spaniards had no 
sooner discovered America than they began to look for gold and 
silver there. They started mining on the Isthmus, at Darien, 
about 1514. Oviedo, who wrote in 1526, said that he had been 
for twelve years “surveyor of the melting shops pertaining to 
the gold mines of the main land.” 

At first, the king’s share was one-fifth, but in 1526 it was 
temporarily reduced to one-tenth of the products of the mine 
and by successive re-enactments this continued to be the royal 
tithe. At the same time mining was made open to both Span¬ 
iards and natives, and attempts, though not always successful 
ones, were made to protect the natives. Slaves were early 
introduced, and formed a distinct class from the Indians 
themselves. 

Oviedo wrote that in mining on land, the dirt was carried 
from the mine in trays to the stream where it was delivered to 
washers. These were for the most part Indian women, who 
were wont “to sit by the water’s edge with their legs in the 
water even up to the knees,” and thus pan the pay dirt. 

But more important than the gold mines discovered by the 
Spaniards in Central America, Mexico, and Peru were those of 
silver. Even before the discovery of America the Incas made 
the mines at Porco produce large quantities of silver. A tre¬ 
mendous impetus to silver mining was given by the discovery of 
silver at Potosi, Peru, in 1545. 

The story is that this came about as follows: A Peruvian by 
the name of Gualpa, who worked in the mines of Porco, went 


40 ] An Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy 

hunting one day, and it chanced that the game ran up the steep 
mountain of Potosi. He attempted to follow it by taking hold 
of one scrub after another, but eventually his weight pulled a 
bramble, called quinua, out by the roots. It seemed very 
heavy, and looking down he saw a great lump of silver hanging 



Spaniards forcing Indians to mine for them 


to it. Examining the hole he discovered a large vein of silver 
ore, which upon being smelted at his home he found to be of the 
highest grade he had ever known. He worked his mine secretly 
for some time,but at last his evidently increasing wealth excited 
the suspicion of his neighbor, Guanca, who forced him to dis¬ 
close the secret, and started working a near-by vein. As the 
metal did not come from this so easily, Guanca told his Spanish 
master, Vilaroel, who in turn registered the mine, and, in ac¬ 
cordance with the mining law, obtained several rods to work for 
himself. 






In Sixteenth Century America [ 41 

The best description of sixteenth century mining in America 
is given by Acosta, who after spending a number of years in 
Peru, returned to Spain in 1587, and in 1590 wrote in Spanish 
his “Natural and Moral History of the Indies.” 

According to Acosta, the most famous gold was that of 


Incas smelting and casting 

Carovaya, in Peru, and Valdivia, in Chile. An idea of the 
quantity of gold produced may be gathered from his statement: 

“In the fleet in which I came to Spain, which was in the year 
1585, the declaration of the mainland was twelve cassons or 
chests of gold, every casson weighing at least four arrobas, that 
is a hundred weight, and 1,056 marks from New Spain which 
was for the king only, besides that which came registered for 
merchants and private men, and much that came unregistered.” 

Since the mines of Potosi were of such tremendous import¬ 
ance, Acosta paused to give quite a description of them, from 
which we may abstract the following account: 








42 1 An Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy 

“The rock of Potosi contained four principal veins running 
north and south, besides various lesser veins running from the 
main lodes like branches on a tree. By 1585 the mines were 
deep for that period. In one vein at Potosi were reckoned 
seventy-eight mines which were 100 fathoms deep, and a few 
which were 200 fathoms. In another vein were twenty-four 
shafts, some from 70 to 80 fathoms deep. To facilitate working 
at this depth, the Spaniards constructed tunnels called soca- 
vones } which were begun at the foot of the mountain, and ran 
horizontally to meet the vein. These were a fathom in height 
and eight feet in width. One of these tunnels was begun in 
1556, and required twenty-nine years to construct. In 1585 
this was driven 3,500 ft. into the mountain, and met the mine 
shaft 135 fathoms below the top. There were already nine 
tunnels completed and others begun.” 

Acosta’s description of the work in the mine is too vivid not 
to be quoted: 

“They labor in these mines in continual darkness and ob¬ 
scurity, without knowledge of day or night. And forasmuch as 
those places are never visited with the sun, there is not only a 
continual darkness, but also an extreme cold, with so foul an 
air contrary to the disposition of man, that such as newly enter 
are sick as they are at sea. The which happened to me in one 
of these mines, where I felt a pain at the heart, and heating of 
the stomach. Those that labor therein use candles to light 
them, dividing their work in such sort, as they that work in the 
day rest by the night, and so they change. The metal is com¬ 
monly hard, and therefore they break it with hammers; splitting 
and hewing it by force as if they were flints. Afterwards they 
carry up this metal upon their shoulders, by ladders of three, 
branches made of neats leather twisted like pieces of wood 
which are crossed with staves of wood, so that by every one of 
these ladders they mount and descend together. They are ten 
estados long apiece, and at the end of one, begins another of the 
same length, every ladder beginning and ending at platforms of 
wood where are seats to rest them like unto galleries for that 


In Sixteenth Century America [ 43 

there are many of these ladders to mount by, one at the end of 
another. A man carries ordinarily the weight of two arrobas of 
metal upon his shoulders, tied together in a cloth in manner of a 
skippe, and so mount they three and three. He that goes 
before carries a candle tied to his thumb, for, as it is said, they 
have no light from heaven, and so they go up the ladder holding 
it with both their hands; to mount so great a height which 
commonly is above 150 estados —a fearful thing which breeds an 
amazement to think upon it, so great is the desire of silver, that 
for the gain thereof men endure any pains.” 

Acosta also gives an interesting account of the earliest known 
American smelting. He says the Indian method was by dis¬ 
solving the metal by fire. ‘‘To this end,” says Acosta, ‘‘they 
built small furnaces where the wind commonly blew, and with 
wood and coal made their refining the which furnaces in Peru 
they called huayras.' y 

The Spaniards had at first also used such huayras , which were 
best for refining the richest ores. Later they learned to use the 
process of amalgamation with quicksilver. The method there 
employed is described by Acosta as follows: 

‘‘They first beat and grind the metal very small, with the 
hammers of the machinery, which beat this stone like unto tan 
milles, and being well beaten they ‘searce’ it in a copper ‘searce,’ 
making the pouder as small and fine as if it were horse hair; 
these ‘searces’ being well fitted, do sift 30 quintals in a day and a 
night; then they put the pouder of the metal into the vessels 
upon furnaces, whereas they anoint it and mortify it with 
brine, putting to every 50 quintals of pouder, 5 quintals of salt. 
And this they do for that the salt separates the earth and filth, 
to the end the quicksilver may the more easily draw the silver 
unto it. Afterwards they put quicksilver into a piece of holland 
and press it out upon the metal, which goes forth like a dew, 
always turning and stirring the metal, to the end it may be well 
incorporated. 

‘‘Before the invention of these furnaces of fire, they did often 
mingle their metal with quicksilver in great troughs, letting 


44 | An Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy 

it settle some days, and did then mix it and stir it again, until 
they thought all the quicksilver were well incorporate with the 
silver, the which continued twenty days and more, and at the 
least nine days. 

“Since they discovered, as the desire to get is diligent, that 



Llamas carrying silver bars, sixteenth century 


to shorten the time fire did much help, to incorporate silver the 
sooner with quicksilver, they invented these furnaces,whereon 
they set vessels to put in their metal with salt and quicksilver, 
and underneath they put fire by little and little in furnaces made 
for the nonce underneath; so that in five or six days the quick¬ 
silver is incorporate with the silver. 

“And when they find that the mercury hath done his part, 
and assembled all the silver, leaving nothing behind, but is well 
imbrued, as a sponge doth water, dividing it from the earth, 
lead, and copper, with which it is engendered, then they sep¬ 
arate it likewise from the quicksilver, the which they do in this 





In Sixteenth Century America [ 45 

sort; they put the metal in caldrons, and vessels full of water, 
where with certain wheels they turn the metal round about, as 
if they should make mustard, and so the earth and dross go 
from the metal with the water that runs away. The silver and 
quicksilver as most ponderous remaining in the bottom, the 



Incas smelting and forging, from De Bry 


metal which remains is like unto sand. Then they take it out 
and wash it again in great platters of wood, or keelers full of 
water, still drawing the earth from it, until they leave the silver 
and quicksilver well cleansed. There slips away also some small 
portion of silver and quicksilver with the earth and dross, which 
they call washings, the which they wash again and draw out the 
remainder. 

“When the silver and quicksilver are clensed and begin to 
shine, and that there remains no earth, they put all the metal 






46 J An Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy 

into a cloth, which they strain out very forcibly, so that all the 
quicksilver passeth out, being not incorporate with the silver, 
like to a mark of almonds pressed to draw oyle. And being 
thus pressed the remainder contains but the sixth part in silver, 
and five in mercury. So if there remains a mark of threescore 


Potosi and one of its smelters 

pounds, ten are of silver, and fifty of mercury. Of these marks 
they make pinas, as they call them, like pine apples or sugar 
loaves, hollow within, which they commonly make of a hundred 
pound weight. 

“Then to separate the silver from the quicksilver, they put 
it into a violent fire which they cover with an earthen vessel, 
like to the mold of a sugar loaf, or unto a capuchon or hood, the 
which they cover with coals, and set fire unto it; whereby the 
quicksilver exhales the smoke, which striking against the 
capuchon of earth, thickens and distills, like unto the smoke of a 
pot covered; and by a pipe, like unto a limbecke, they receive 




In Sixteenth Century America [ 47 

the quicksilver which distills, the silver remaining without 
changing the form, but in weight it is diminished five parts of 
that it was, and is spungious, the which is worthy of observa¬ 
tion. Of two of these loaves they make one barre of silver, in 
weight 65 or 66 marks; and in this form they carry it to the 



Interior of silver mine in Peru, sixteenth century 


touch, custom, and mark. Silver drawn with mercury is so 
fine, that it never abates of two thousand three hundred and 
fourscore of alloy.” 

Both stamp mills and grinding mills were used at Potosi, and 
they were driven by either horsepower or waterpower. It 
rained only during the winter there, and the rain had to be 
stored in reservoirs for use in the summer months. If necessary, 
however, the ore could be carried three or four leagues to Tar- 
apaya, where power was furnished by a river. 

The use of quicksilver in smelting was of course not known to 




48 ] An Illustrated History of Mining and Metallurgy 

the Incas, but they did have mines of vermilion, from which 
they made paint for decorating themselves. A Portuguese 
named Henrique Garces, who had known of vermilion in 
Castile, suspected this to be the same as that from which 
mercury was extracted, and upon examining the mine, found 
this to be the fact. 

The application of quicksilver to smelting in Peru was cred¬ 
ited to Fernando de Velasco in 1571. Its success naturally led 
to a great demand for quicksilver. The smelting of this is 
described by Acosta as follows: 

“Let us now speak of how they draw out quicksilver, and 
how they refine silver therewith. They take the stone or metal 
where they find the quicksilver, which they put into the fire in 
pots of earth well luted, being well beaten, so that this metal or 
stone coming to melt by the heat of the fire, the quicksilver 
separates itself, and goes forth in exhalation, and sometimes 
even with the smoke of the fire, until it encounters some body 
where it stays and congeals, and if it pass up higher, without 
meeting of any hard substance, it mounts up until it be cold, 
and then, congealed, it falls down again. When the melting is 
finished, they unstop the pots and draw forth the metal, some 
times staying until it be very cold, for if there remained any 
fume or vapor, which should encounter them that unstopped 
the pots, they were in danger of death, or to be benumbed of 
their limbs, or at least to loose their teeth.” 









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